Minecraft to join with LEGO

 
Mojang recently received the minimum 10,000 supporters needed for a Minecraft logo set to be made.

LEGO first approached Mojang, encouraging them to submit a model to the Cuusoo website. Cuusoo is a Japanese LEGO partner which enables the making of community-supported LEGO sets.
If an idea can get 10,000 supporters, Cuusoo is likely to create it. A Minecraft lego set easily reached the 10,000 supporters, and would likely have more if allowed.

Mojang is looking forward to the LEGO set.

“Minecraft is about placing blocks to build anything you can imagine in the virtual world," Mojang said on the submission page. "You can build anything you imagine with LEGO bricks in the physical world. Minecraft and LEGO were meant to be together.”

Survival mode comes to Minecraft-Pocket Edition

Mojang announced plans this week to add survival mode to Minecraft - Pocket Edition.

They said they have not updated Minecraft - Pocket Edition much yet because they were focused on getting the pocket edition for iOS out in the Apple store after they released the Android version.

"The plan now is to start digging into making Minecraft - Pocket Edition with survival features!" said Daniel Kaplan, a developer working on the pocket edition.

Some of the new features Kaplan mentioned are as follows:
A new file system - to make sure we can support items and mobs in the world
- Item system - to be able to pick up items
- Crafting - This will probably need some iterations since the interface will be customized for the touch devices
- Inventory system
- Mobs - animals and enemies
- Optimizing rendering code - Mojang is experimenting with caves but need to make it work better before we are able to release it
- Clean up of code and overall optimization

Kaplan said they don't have any dates for when these updates will happen, but he urged players to make sure their phones are fully updated so they will be compatible.

Minecraft - Pocket Edition is only 16 cents on the Android market right now as a special promotion.

Notch steps down as lead Minecraft developer

Markus "Notch" Persson announced on Dec. 2 that he will be stepping down as the lead developer of Minecraft, which he created.
"As of yesterday, Jens Bergensten is the new lead developer on Minecraft. He will have the final say in all design decisions, so he will kinda sorta become my boss, I guess," Notch blogged on Dec. 2.
Jens Bergensten (Jeb) has been helping Notch all along, and now he will have the chance to take over a project.
"We’ve been working together on Minecraft for a year now, and I’m amazed at how much in synch we two are when it comes to how to design the game," Notch said. "And when we don’t agree, we discuss it and something much better comes out at a result. He’s truly a great person to work with, and I feel very confident handing over the leadership of Minecraft to him."
Jeb now plans to work on fixing bugs within the game and enabling players to leave notes on books and paper within the game.
Notch said he is going to use his extra time to work on his new collectible card game, Scrolls, and a new undisclosed project.

Notch released the first version of Minecraft in May 2009 and has been developing it since then.
Mojang, the game-developing company Notch started, sold over 4 million copies of Minecraft before it's official release in November 2011. The game has brought in over $50 million, and Notch has used that money to further resources.

Mojang now consists of 13 employees and is working on more games besides Minecraft.

Notch and Yogscast settle disputes

Graphic from "Inside Gaming Daily"

The Yogscast released their official statement last week about what occured at Minecon.

In the statement they said they were surprised at Markus "Notch" Persson's tweets.
"We are very disappointed by these tweets from someone we admire and respect. We can understand that it was the morning after the deadmau5 party and Notch was very tired, but we are still fairly upset," the statement said.

The Yogscast also denied a lot of allegations.
"Out of all the tweets that Notch sent out, most hurtful was the accusation that we told a kid to “f*** off” and crossed out another signature – which is something we would never ever do," the statement said.

It continued: "The quotes and actions that Notch attributed to us were not said by us or published anywhere by us. Therefore we are surprised and confused about where this stuff has come from - especially since the only time we spoke to Notch was at the interview."
But the Yogscast did admit to swearing at the show and using the F-word, but they pointed out that Mojang failed to give them instructions regarding that. They also said Mojang had sold rights to the Yogscast livestream without informing Yogscast.
The official statement ellicited an apology from Notch.
"It's likely the entire Yogscast scenario is just stress-related misunderstanding. I apologize for bringing it online before talking to them," Notch tweeted during Thanksgiving weekend.
The attacks on Notch from Yogscast fans gradually ceased. But to any that still came, Notch replied "I've already apologized."
Many fans support both Notch and Yogscast and were worried to see their relationship failing. Those fans are relieved to see them resolve their differences. But some fans wonder if Notch and the Yogscast staged the conflict as a publicity stunt.
Notch and the Yogscast were some of the first gamers to reach celebrity status. Game creators are not usually as well-known as the game they create. Since they have celebrity-status, it would not be surprising if this all was a publicity stunt.
Here is the Yogscast's official statement: http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/mnau9/yogscast_response_to_notchs_twitterings/

Yogscast and Notch no more?

While Markus "Notch" Persson, the creator of Minecraft, is a rising celebrity among independent gamers, and the Yogscast are rising celebrities among YouTube viewers, it seems that the two entities have less in common than everyone thought.

At the first - and probably only - Minecraft convention, drama seemed to surround Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley of the Yogscast. In October, the Yogscast claimed their YouTube Minecraft series to be one of the reasons Minecraft has become so popular.

Mojang invited the Yogscast to attend Minecon and put on a panel there. Mojang claims that the Yogscast demanded to be paid while no other speakers at the convention were compensated.

Notch tweeted: "They called us "a bunch of nerds who don't know how to run a company", demanded that we pay them to come here (nobody else got paid)."

Notch tweeted a total of 8 tweets on November 11 just about this conflict.

Apparently it all started when the Yogscast said the F-word to a child. The Yogscast has not commented on the matter yet, but Notch tweeted: "A kid wanted them to sign something I had signed, and they said they'd cross it out and put 'f*** you' there instead."

"I'm very sorry about the behavior of the people we won't work with any more. Celebrity or not, you don't f-bomb kids," he said. Then verified who he was referring to by tweeting: "Yes, Yogscast."

Notch said that the Yogscast "repeatedly insulted people, talked behind their backs, refused to cooperate, and acted like total spoiled divas nonstop."

There has been much bantering between Minecraft fans on reddit.com and other forums. While some Minecraft attendees claim to have been treated poorly by the Yogscast, others shared positive experiences.

Notch has been receiving angry comments from thousands of "Yognaughts.

"Wow. Hate, insults and threats are flooding in from Yogscast fans," Notch said.

The Yogscast has not yet commented on the matter. MintyMinute, Yogscast's main administrator has been handling questions while Lane and Brindley consult with their P.R. and write an official statement.

"An Official statement/Vlog will be released when Simon, Lewis and Hannah return from Las Vegas to clarify what has happened. Hopefully this will clear everything up for everyone," MintyMinute posted on the Yogscast's facebook fan page.

"we aren't stalling in any way, we merely want to draft a coherent response, instead of raging in a con-flu/jet lagged state - have patience!" the Yogscast tweeted.

They followed up an hour ago with: "Still drafting what we want to say, between naps and calls to V.I.P.s - we want to give you the clearest idea of what went down."

Fans on both sides of the conflict continue to rage on over forums and tweets. And there have been reports of fans pretending to be the Yogscast and commenting on the forums. But the Yogscast said they have not taken any position or commented about it at all yet.

So fans await the Yogscast's statement.

Evolution of Minecraft video at Minecon

Minecon began with a 6 minute video showing the evolution of Minecraft, starting from the very beginning.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvMzmaDnO2s&feature=channel_video_title

Minecraft released for iOS, preparing for Xbox release

Mojang released Minecraft for Apple products this weekend, and they announced that Minecraft will be available for Xbox Arcade in spring 2012.

Minecraft - Pocket Edition for Apple devices jumped to second most grossing app as soon as it was released and later rose to be most grossing app.

The Apple version of Minecraft is similar to the version for Android devices. The controls are the same, but it only supports local multiplayer over Wifi.

The game costs $6.99 and allows for creative building with 36 different blocks. It works for any apple phone or device, including iPads.

Not much has been said yet for Minecraft on the xbox, but Mojang did release a trailer for it. The link to the trailer is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfYuY3sv1Ro&feature=player_embedded

Minecraft officially released

Mojang launched Minecraft's official release Friday at Minecon in Las Vegas.

It has been over two years since Markus "Notch" Persson created Minecraft and released the Alpha version. The game started out with a small list of mobiles and blocks. Now Minecraft has hundreds of blocks, thousands of craftable objects and three different dimensions within the game world.

New creatures in the game include the Enderman and the Ender Dragon. New objects include potions tables, eyes of ender and melon slices.

The 4+ million people who bought the game while in beta or alpha versions will receive the official version of the game at no additional cost.

Notch said in his blog that Mojang will continue updating the game for some time, and they plan to add even more elements to the game.

Minecraft has gone through a drastic transformation since it was first started, and many players can be heard saying the phrase, "It's like a whole new game!"

Minecon starts

Today marked the second and final day of Mojang's first Minecraft Convention.

Yesterday, day 1, Markus Notch Persson, the creator of Minecraft addressed fans, and announced the official release of Minecraft. Yesterday also featured keynote speakers and breakout sessions about various aspects of Minecraft and YouTube.

Today, Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley from the YouTube sensation, Yogscast, addressed fans in a breakout session and signed autographs afterwards.

Mojang will end Minecon tonight with the "Into the Nether" party, only for adults 21 and older, at the Wynn Hotel.

Everyone who went to Minecon received goodie bags featuring various handouts from mod creators and server hosts.

The bags also held Minecraft-themed bottles of Jones soda, mousepads, 3D cardboard cutouts of the classic player skin and some blocks, opportunities to win items like an Xbox or a gaming PC, and the item everyone wanted most - the cape for players' in-game characters.

Notch named in most popular game makers list

Imagine Games Network recently named Markus "Notch" Persson, the maker of Minecraft as number 14 in a list of the web's 25 most popular game makers.

Notch's name is well-known among online gamers as the creator of a new type of sandbox game and a new kind of game promotion system. His system to sell the game early and release updates in prerelease patches is unique.

He plans to use the same type of promotion system with Mojang's new game, Scrolls. And other independent games have tried the same approach.

An independent game using the same type of promotion recently received a large donation from Notch.  The game called Voxatron, is available for purchase in Alpha for however much customers want to donate.  Notch purchased the game for $2,000.

Minecraft sells 4 million copies

Minecraft sold its 4 millionth copy yesterday, a huge milestone for an independent game.

Even more unique about that number of sales is the fact that Minecraft is still in Beta mode. After years in Alpha and Beta modes, the game will be officially released in two weeks at Minecon.

Notch has used a unique development plan with Minecraft. Rather than waiting to sell the game until it was fully developed, Notch started selling games in the developing modes of the game. He sold it in Alpha mode for a 50% discount, and now that the game is in Beta mode, it is sold for a 25% discount.
Notch used the money from selling the game early to hire more game developers, founding the company Mojang. As more developers were hired, Mojang added more features to the game, meriting positive feedback from fans.

Mojang employees have been updating more abundantly in the past couple of months to prepare the game for the official release. They have updated in patches, and the major additions include mushroom biomes with giant mushrooms and mushroom cows (mooshrooms), animal breeding, new mobs including baby animals and dragons, and potion tables with hundreds of crafteable potions.

Notch said that Mojang will continue with the update patches even after the official release.

Youtube sensation claims partial credit for Minecraft success

Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane from the YouTube sensation, the Yogscast, claim to be largely responsible for the popularity of Minecraft, according to an interview with Edge magazine.

"The entire game has had $0 spent on PR yet has sold 3.5 million copies - I think a large part of that is due to us," Brindley said.

The commentators said their Minecraft series on YouTube has helped Minecraft gain popularity. 

"We are Minecraft's PR! I think we enjoy a symbiotic relationship with Mojang and have definitely contributed to each other's success. I'm very thankful we've done so well out of it."

Minecraft and the Yogscast both skyrocketed around the same time that Brindley and Lane started making Minecraft videos.  And it is possible to see the similarities between the Yogscast and Minecraft. 

They both had small, humble beginnings and offered something unique in the entertainment market.  Minecraft was a new, revolutionary type of sandbox game, and the Yogscast was a new channel of gaming commentators who focused more on plot and comedy than on gameplay. 

The Yogscast has revolutionized gaming commentating; dozens of YouTube channels have attempted to follow their footsteps and replicate their style, but not many have had the same "oomph."

The Yogscast channel, under the name "Blue Xephos", receives over 80 million views month and recently surpassed 1 million subscribers. 

Lane and Brindley started their gaming commentary channel 3 years ago after meeting in the World of Warcraft guild, Ye Olde Goone Squad (YOGS, hence Yogscast.)

They initially made World of Warcraft videos, but when Lane introduced Brindley to the newly founded Minecraft, their channel took off.

The videos started out as a how to series to inform viewers about Minecraft.  About halfway through the season, a third character entered their gameplay, known only as Israphel.  Brindley and Lane were as surprised as viewers were that a stranger had accessed their server. 

Soon other characters entered and plots unfolded.  The series evolved to the "Shadow of Israphel" series.  In an interview with "gotgame.com" Brindley said the "Shadow of Israphel" crew includes friends, fans and "random people from many sources" who build the buildings and craft the plot. 

Brindley said he has to keep in contact with the other players so they all know when to log in to their multiplayer server.  So, Brindley knows a little of what is going to happen in each episode but they never inform Lane about it beforehand.

"Simon has literally zero idea about anything, which I think is crucial to the series," Brindley said.

Minecraft wins gaming awards

Golden Joystick recently announced Minecraft as the 2011 best downloadable game award winner.

"More of a phenomenon than just a game - Minecraft is without doubt the biggest thing to happen to digital entertainment in a long time," the Golden Joystick's website stated of Minecraft.

Minecraft has over 15 million users now and is still growing.

Earlier this month, Minecraft also won two Game Developers Choice Online Awards.  The two awards they won were Best Community Relations and Best Live Game.

This is the 2nd year for the GDC online awards, but the 29th year of the Golden Joystick awards, also known as People's Gaming Awards.  They have several different categories including best shooter, best MMO and best RPG.

Mojang can continue use of "Scrolls" for now

Mojang founder Markus "Notch" Peterson updated the status of the Mojang vs. Bethesda court case via Twitter yesterday, October 18.

"We won the interim injunction!  We can keep using the name "Scrolls."  ZeniMax/Bethesda can still appeal the ruling, but I'm very happy," Notch tweated.

An interim injunction is a court order prohibiting someone from taking an action until the court has come to a full decision.  Bethesda wanted a Swedish court to order Mojang to discontinue the use of the name "Scrolls" until the court can decide whether Mojang is infringing on the "Elder Scrolls" trademark.

Bethesda failed, and Mojang can continue using Scrolls for now.  This means a one up for Mojang, but it doesn't mean they've won.  Bethesda could try to appeal the court's judgement or continue with the lawsuit anyway.

But chances look bleak for Bethesda.  It would waste months to try and repeal the court ruling.  Plus, the court clearly prefers Mojang's case to Bethesda's, otherwise they wouldn't have ruled the way they did.

Bethesda isn't giving up though.  But Notch says he thinks there is something more to this case.

"When Bethesda contacted us, we offered both to change the name to 'Scrolls: <some subtitle>' and to give up the trademark," Notch said in a blog post. "They refused on both counts.  Whatever reason they have for suing us, it's not a fear of us having a trademark on the word Scrolls, as we're offered to give that up."

Bethesda suing Mojang over use of game name

For those Minecraft players who don't know, the gaming company Bethesda is suing Mojang, the company that made Minecraft.

Bethesda started the lawsuit after Mojang announced a fantasy card-trading game they are creating called Scrolls.  Bethesda's attorney sent Mojang a letter in August stating that the name "Scrolls" would cause confusion with Bethesda's own trademark Elder Scrolls, a role-playing game.

Mojang co-owner Markus Notch Persson initially challenged Bethesda via his blog to settle the suit like true gamers, by playing the video game Quake 3.

"If we win, you drop the lawsuit.  If you win, we will change the name of Scrolls to something you're fine with.  I'm serious by the way," Notch said in his blog.

Notch later told Wired magazine that Quake 3 wasn't the best choice since Bethesda technically owns the game.  But he said the match would "bring both parties a lot of good PR."

Bethesda declined the offer and continued with the lawsuit.  Notch started out feeling lighthearted about the whole thing.

"I love Bethesda," Notch said in an August blog post. "I assume this nonsense is partly just their lawyers being lawyers."

Lawyers spent a lot of time in discussion before the lawsuit went to court, and Notch referred to the legalities as "terribly boring."

But as the lawsuit got more serious in September, Mojang had to come to grips with it.  The independent company started getting more serious about the situation.

"If we're going to court, I will fight this for as long as it takes," Notch said. "It's a bogus claim, and they have several one-word-named games that share a noun with other games."

While Notch is developing a more fiery attitude towards the lawsuit, Bethesda Vice President Pete Hines is trying to maintain a more diplomatic stance.

"Nobody here enjoys being forced into this.  Hopefully it will be resolved soon," Bethesda Vice President Pete Hines said.

The difference between Mojang and Bethesda is definitely visible.  Mojang is a small independent company started only a year ago that's famous for one game: Minecraft. Mojang employees are allowed to invent their own job titles.

Bethesda is a huge, international gaming country that's famous for several games including Rage and the Fallout games.  The company has also bought other smaller game companies.

So, while Notch is making this lawsuit more personal by tweeting and blogging about it, Hines is focusing on keeping their case within the court.

"This is a business matter based on how trademark law works," Hines said. "and it will continue to be dealt with by lawyers who understand it, not by me or our developers."

Minecraft users offer varied reactions to Pocket Edition

Picture provided by OSX2000 on the Minecraft forums

Minecraft players are manifesting mixed reactions to today’s release of Minecraft - Pocket Edition.

            

“Works like a dream and feels just like its big brother.  Yes, it lacks some features but these will come soon.  Worth the money,” Minecraft player Hitch said on a Droid Marketplace review.

But some Minecraft players are disappointed to find out that Minecraft - Pocket Edition does not yet include survival mode.

"For the initial release of the game on the rest of the android devices, this has turned out great.  I patiently await the eventual release of survival," one player said on Droid Marketplace review.

Other players have issues with Pocket Edition controls.

An anonymous review on the Android Marketplace read, “Seriously Mojang you just just ****ed the game up with this update... We need the xperia controls back!!”

The review was referring to the controls used on the Xperia version of Minecraft - Pocket Version which came out in August.  Some players prefer those controls to the ones on the new version.

Some players are more optimistic than others about the differences between the two games.

“The controls aren’t so responsive, the d-pad’s not so great.  But again, this isn’t fully implemented.  Give it time and it will be awesome.  I have faith,” Minecraft player Barry said on a Droid Marketplace review.

Some players suggest that Mojang release Minecraft on other devices and gaming consoles, but...

“No on the 3DS version.  Seeing creepers jump out in 3D would make me never play Minecraft again,” Minecraft player R3Miixmaster commented on a wireless.ign.com article.

There is also the confusion of who has to pay the $6.99 for Pocket Edition and who doesn’t.

“It would be nice if people who bought the game on the computer could get the pocket edition for free,” Minecraft player Gunbros21 commented on a wireless.ign.com article about Pocket Edition. 

Other players commented that Minecraft agreed to give all future versions for free to players who had bought Minecraft while it was still in alpha mode, but it is still undetermined how previous owners can get the edition for free, if they can.

Picture provided by Psychonauticus on the Minecraft forums

Minecraft released for Droid devices

Today marked the world-wide release of Minecraft - Pocket Edition for all Android devices.

Minecraft - Pocket Edition was set to come out on September 29, but Mojang pushed it forward until today because of a bug found within the game.  

That wait caused even more excitement amongst Minecraft players for this release, and they are not wasting any time buying copies for their smart phones.

One player tweeted: "Trying out #Minecraft pocket edition on my phone works really good just can't wait til it's survival."

Though Minecraft - Pocket Edition does not include survival mode, it includes all the features available in Minecraft creative mode.  Players can mine materials and build as much as they want.  

Players move around in the game by pressing the arrows on the screen, and they look around by sweeping the screen with their thumbs.  They click to place blocks, and they hold down in one spot to remove blocks.

Another thing available in Minecraft - Pocket Edition is the ability for multi-player worlds, and sharing worlds from phone to phone.

The release of Minecraft - Pocket Edition is a big step for Mojang, but they said they would continue working on the game.

"Just like the PC/Mac/Linux version of Minecraft we're planning to continue developing the Pocket Edition for a long time with frequent updates," Daniel Kaplan, Mojand developer, wrote on the Mojang website.  "We're looking forward to engaging in further discussions with our community as we take the next step for the Pocket Edition."


See the video below for more information.

Minecon updates

Mojang recently released three pieces of exciting news for Minecon attendees.

They updated the Minecon schedule, and they announced that everyone attending Minecon will receive in-game capes for their player skins.

This is what the cloak will look like.

Mojang also announced that Yogscast will be making an appearance at Minecon.  They will have a main show and an autograph session.

The updated schedule is as follows:

Friday, November 18th

10 a.m. Game Room and Exhibit Hall Open
1 - 3 p.m. Keynote Address and Minecraft Launch with Notch
4 - 6:30 p.m. Breakout classes on your favorite Minecraft subjects
7 - 10 p.m. Miners' Party
11pm - 2 a.m. Diamond Party (Over 21)

Saturday, November 19th

10 a.m. Game Room and Exhibit Hall Open
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Breakout classes on your favorite Minecraft subjects 4 - 6 p.m. Closing Ceremony Celebration 10 p.m. - 1 a.m. Diamond Party (Over 21)

Other activities will include:

• Build contests
• Autograph and Picture Time with the Mojang Team & Top Minecraft YouTubers
• Costume contests
• Exhibits by leading gaming and Minecraft related companies
• Meeting friends from around the world
• Commemorative merchandise
• Indie Developer Theater

For more information about Minecon, visit:  http://minecon.mojang.com/about
Vote on your favorite cloak design here: http://mojang.com/2011/09/22/minecon-swag-cloaks/

Minecraft players compare Terraria

Terraria was officially released for PC on May 16 of this year.  As more and more Minecraft players have become aware of Terraria and started trying it out, more people have realized the many similarities between Minecraft and Terraria.

Just like in Minecraft, Terraria is a world consisting of blocks.  Players need to build sufficient shelters before night comes and monsters come out.  To any Minecraft player, that sounds terribly familiar.

But there are some key differences between Minecraft and Terraria.  The biggest difference is that Terraria is a two-dimensional, pixel-like game.  You can only move up and down on a randomly-generated landscape.

The other major difference is the mobiles.  There are no peaceful mobs in Terraria, like cows or pigs, but there are hostile ones.  There are still zombies and slimes like in Minecraft, but the slimes are everywhere at any time of day.  And there are even worse monsters than that.

Flying eyeballs come out at night, and fire snakes can attack at any time.  Terraria is more difficult than Minecraft because there are more hostile mobs, and not just at night.

Just like Minecraft, Terraria players must still mine and harvest blocks of raw materials in order to build and craft things.  But there is a far larger scale of craftable items in Terraria.  Players can make anything from a bathtub to a laser gun.

Some Minecraft mods include similar items to those players can craft in Terraria, but many cannot be found in the original Minecraft.

Despite these differences, players still can't help but notice the similarities between the two games.  As players dig down in Terraria, they discover natural caves and randomly generated dungeons.  They also find rare minerals and gems like iron ore and diamond ore.

All these things contribute to the feeling among gamers that Terraria is just a 2D version of Minecraft with some extra creatures.

However, Notch, the creator of Minecraft, doesn't seem to have any issues with the similarities between the games.  One of the things that contributed to Terraria's popularity was the fact that Notch tweeted the link to the game when it came out.

Terraria did not have any grand marketing plans, and their short trailer was barely watched.  Notch's tweet was possibly the biggest publicity the game got.  Still, Terraria downloads skyrocketed, and it gained more fame as more people played it.  Gaming commentators like the Yogscast played it and posted videos on YouTube.

As of July, 630,000 units had been sold, and that number continues to rise.  But will it ever come close to the 3.6 million Minecraft users?

You can check out Terraria here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/

Minecon to be hosted in Las Vegas

Minecraft fans have long waited for this event.  The first Minecraft conference, and the official release of Minecraft. 

Gaming commentators across the country have been posting videos of the recent patch updates, and are eagerly waiting the official release.  That’s not the only thing exciting about Minecon though.

Participants of Minecon will enjoy costume contests, build contests and classes.  There will also be speeches from different developers and gamers, most importantly a speech by Markus "Notch" Persson, the developer of Minecraft. And the middle of the exhibition floor will feature an indie game theater for independent game developers to show off their games.

Mojang recently announced another bonus: all Minecon attendees will receive free alpha codes for the games Scrolls and Cobalt when they are released.

Everyone on the Mojang gaming company team will be staying for the conference.  Many YouTube gaming commentators will be going.  ChimneySwift has talked about going, and the Yogscast is considering it but has not yet confirmed.

Minecon will be held from November 18 to 19 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tickets bought before September 30 will cost $99 and after that will cost $139.

The conference will be all-ages, but anyone 16-years-old or younger must have an adult chaperon.  And anyone wishing to reserve a room at the hotel must be atleast 18-years-old.  For a limited time, the room rates are $69 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and $99 for Friday and Saturday.


The full schedule has not been confirmed, but the following times have:
Friday:
10 a.m.: Doors open
1 p.m.: First keynote speaker
Friday and Saturday nights: parties for 21 years and older.

For more updates, check these websites:
Minecon website: http://minecon.mojang.com/
Hotel reservations: https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=3651403
Mojang website: http://mojang.com/